Piastri rules out ruthless title approach, backs McLaren success

Oscar Piastri has ruled out taking a more ruthless approach to this year’s title fight if it comes at the risk of jeopardising his long-term success with McLaren.

Piastri is engaged in a tense battle with teammate Lando Norris for this year’s drivers’ crown, but saw his lead cut by three points (to 31) after complying with a controversial team order at last weekend’s Italian Grand Prix.

McLaren’s pit wall told Piastri to give second place back to his teammate after a delay in changing Norris’ tyres at a late pit stop saw Piastri move ahead of Norris on track.

The team order raised questions about McLaren’s potential interference in the championship battle, and whether Piastri should have simply ignored his team and secured second place.

In an exclusive interview with ESPN this week, Piastri said constructive talks over the Monza incident had already taken place and that he fully trusts McLaren’s handling of the situation.

“We have had very good discussions this week about what went on and what can be made clearer, what can be improved,” Piastri said. “That’s always kind of a learning process, I guess. But yeah, ultimately I know that the team would have my best interests at heart.

“And ultimately, I want to protect that because I can’t have my own success without the team having success. So protecting that is a very important thing for me.”

Asked if he would take a more ruthless approach over the remaining eight races to ensure he is crowned champion, Piastri added: “Not at the cost of future success. Definitely not.”

Along with Norris’ slow pit stop, the Monza incident was further complicated by McLaren pitting its drivers out of their usual sequence so as to defend Piastri’s third-place position from the threat of Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari in fourth.

Norris even suggested over team radio that Piastri pit before him, but only on the understanding that his teammate would not gain a position with the “undercut” advantage of switching to fresh tyres a lap earlier.

– Inside McLaren’s recent history of team orders and close calls
– McLaren walking a ‘fairness’ tightrope with Norris, Piastri
– Piastri: McLaren team order to swap with Lando Norris was ‘fair’

McLaren changed Piastri’s tyres in 1.9 seconds on Lap 45 — the fastest pit stop of any team this season — while Norris’ stop took 5.9 seconds on Lap 46, dropping him to third place and behind Piastri when he exited the pits.

When his race engineer Tom Stallard first asked him to give the position back, Piastri appeared to question whether Norris’ slow stop was a good enough reason to swap the cars.

“We said a slow pit stop was part of racing,” Piastri said over team radio. “I don’t really get what changed here … But if you want me to do it, I’ll do it.”

However, when Piastri heard Stallard repeat the order, he said he felt obliged to comply with the team’s wishes.

“I think in the moment, obviously, I questioned it on the radio as racing drivers often do and as we get encouraged to do,” Piastri explained. “But I think, for me, once I had the second request, for me at that point I’m always going to respect that call.”